A triplet of Lifan 720 sedans, seen on a car market in north Beijing in 2019. There was no Lifan shop in the area and the cars looked like they had been there for a very long time. Strangely, it seemed they were never ever used, brand new basically. Not sure why. Perhaps they just didn’t find any buyers. Lifan cars are relatively rare in Beijing; almost no shops for service and the brand is now widely known.
The Lifan 720 was a mid-size sedan made from 2012 until 2017 with a facelift in 2015. Our triplet is pre-facelift, so when I saw them they were at least five years old. At the time, Lifan made a whole lot of similar sized sedans. The 720 was the second-largest sedan of the lineup, positioned between the Lifan 620/650 and the Lifan 820 sedan.
It was a nice looking car, with a modern design for 2012. There was a big and shiny grille and equally large headlights, all in fashion with the times. The 720 also had shiny door handles and sporty alloy wheels.
The interior was luxurious for the segment, with faux leather seats, two cup holders, an infotainment screen, and a fancy radio-CD player. All three 720’s had the same interior trim; beige with black plastics.
The 2012-2014 Lifan 720 was available with two engines: a 1.8 with 133 hp and 168 Nm mated to a 5-speed manual or a CVT, or a 1.5 with 109 hp and 146 Nm, mated to a 5-speed manual. The cars I saw had the 1.5 under the bonnet. The Lifan 720 was a front-wheel drive car.
Price of the Lifan 720 1.5 started at just 62.800 yuan in 2014, which was very cheap for a sedan of this size and kind. Even though it is rare in Beijing and other big cities, the Lifan 720 sold very well in second and third-tier cities in China.
Characters: 力帆, Lifan. The Lifan brand is owned by Lifan Motors, in turn owned by the Lifan Group, founded in 1992 and best known for their motorcycles. In early 2021, Geely took a large share in Lifan Motors, and companies started a new EV-making joint venture.
The 720 badge in a cool BMW-style script.